The route starts in the port of Rijeka in the northern Adriatic, stops in Split and then on the islands of Hvar, Korčula and Mljet before ending in Dubrovnik.

The long-running Rijeka-Dubrovnik service was cancelled in 2015 due to financial reasons but that state-owned ferry company will now return after a decision from the government last week, HRTurizam reported.

A decision also was made regarding the Split – Stari Grad (Hvar) route. It is now envisaged that in the pre-season there will be 21 return routes, increasing to 35 in the low season, and 49 in peak season.

This month Jadrolinija transported its 11 millionth passengers for the year, which was the first time it had done that in the company’s history.

From 1 January to 2 December 2016 Jadrolinja had transported 11 million passengers and 2.7 million vehicles, which was growth of around 4% from last year.

Nearly half of the 11 million passengers were transported in the months of July and August (5 million). Today Jadrolinija, which employs 1,700 people, has a fleet of 50 boats, which operate on 37 lines.